DLS Design Guidelines
The manufacturing process and the intended material influence the part design in specific ways. For example, injection molding has different design rules than machining.
Additive processes are no exception: The designer needs take the manufacturing process into account when developing a new part.
DLS Design Quick Guide
A summary of reference material in these guidelines is available in the DLS Design Quick Guide handout.
Carbon Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) is a resin-based process that utilizes digital light projection, oxygen-permeable optics, and engineering-grade materials. During printing, a continuous liquid interface (CLIP) is maintained in the dead zone between the window and the printing part as the light engine projects a slice video into the resin from below. The light engine's ultraviolet light solidifies the resin. The part experiences a gradient cure, thus creating fully dense parts with isotropic mechanical properties.
Printing Per Slice
Isotropic Parts Across Slices
Reference DLS Printer Dynamics for more details.
Carbon offers a variety of printer sizes. All printers utilize the same technology producing parts with the same method.
Build Volume
Resolution
When the Carbon printer software analyzes a build, the part is transformed into a series of 2D light projections called slices. During printing, the light engine plays each slice in sequence like a movie to cure the resin and build the part.
XY Resolution
Each slice is an image comprised of pixels projected by the light engine into the liquid resin. White pixels are the building blocks of each slide and indicate areas that will be cured.
The pixel size defines the resolution in the XY plane (parallel to the build platform). Smaller pixels enable higher resolution.
Pixel Size
- M2, M3, M3 Max = 75 µm
- L1 = 160 µm
Z Resolution
The height of each slice is determined by the slice thickness which is measured along the Z axis, perpendicular to the build platform (X-Y plane).
Slice thickness is typically 100 µm by default. *Slice thickness can be adjusted and may vary per resin.
Resolution vs. Accuracy
Resolution does not determine accuracy. The pixel size does not dictate the minimum achievable feature size unless the feature is smaller than the pixel.
Resolution is the measure of the sharpness at which the slice can be projected expressed by the total number of pixels in the slice.
Accuracy is the degree of conformity of a measurement to a true value.
In rare cases, this can be a distinguishing characteristic between the L1 and M Series printers. If the part is highly detailed, the M series might be the better choice.
Most of the time, the only noticeable difference between parts printed on M printers vs. L printers is a variation in surface finish, especially along curved and angled surfaces.
Accuracy
The Carbon DLS process has accuracy and repeatability capabilities that depend on resin and part geometry. General accuracy is described as a constant offset plus a ratio and would be expected when first printing any given geometry. After a part has been optimized for production, some of the sources of variation are removed. The remaining variation is cited as Production Repeatability.
Accuracy Definitions
Two numbers describe the general accuracy capabilities of the Carbon DLS process:
- Constant offset
- Dimensionally-dependent μm per mm
Constant offset is determined by the stack-up of variation sources that affect what we call “local offset accuracy.” This is measured with a test part that has both horizontal and vertical struts (below). Excess curing of the vertical and horizontal struts is called overcure and cure-through, respectively. These optical effects are discussed in more detail in the next section.
The second number that describes accuracy is a factor that is multiplied by the length of the dimensional span. In this way, larger spans are expected to have larger deviations from nominal dimensions compared to smaller spans. These values are meant to include inaccuracies due to uniform part shrinkage and warpage (i.e., non-uniform shrinkage). The values are determined from a series of stair-step test parts with different wall thicknesses. The percentage we report is determined by subtracting the shrinkage of the 3-mm wall thickness part from that of the 1-mm part.
Sources of Variation affect local offset accuracy
- Lot-to-lot variation in resin characteristics
- Printer-to-printer light engine peak wavelength
- Build area variation across the printer
- Temperature variation during printing
- Print speed variation
- Resin pot life age
- Variation in lab environment
Production Repeatability: Tuning tighter than general accuracy
Similar to traditional production techniques, Carbon DLS is tunable, so you can achieve tighter tolerances than default. We refer to this as Production Repeatability. Through a combination of part-file optimizations, print optimizations, and iteration, you can expect to achieve critical dimensions as tight as ±40 μm. This often takes considerable engineering effort and time. Carbon DLS is a highly controllable process with possible points of variation. Tuning is the process of identifying and stabilizing these variables. Because tolerances are tighter in the print plane (XY), features that require a higher degree of accuracy should be parallel to it. Additionally, we are continually working to characterize and improve upon the accuracy of our engineering resins.
Resolution and Accuracy Specs per Printer
| M2 | M3 | M3 Max | L1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
XY Resolution | 75 µm | 75 µm | 75 µm | 160 µm |
Z Resolution * | 100 µm | 100 µm | 100 µm | 100 µm |
General Accuracy | Up to ±70 μm + 1 μm per mm Up to ±0.003 in + 0.001 in per in | Up to ±65 μm+ 1 μm per mm Up to ±0.0026 in + 0.001 in per in | Up to ±65 μm+ 1 μm per mm Up to ±0.0026 in + 0.001 in per in | Up to ±70 μm + 1 μm per mm Up to ±0.003 in + 0.001 in per in |
Production Repeatability Accuracy | Up to ±40 μm Up to ±0.002 in | Up to ±37 μm Up to ±0.002 in | Up to ±37 μm Up to ±0.002 in | Up to ±40 μm Up to ±0.002 in |
* Z resolution is adjustable via slice thickness and may vary per resin. 100 µm is the most common standard thickness.
For more information about accuracy per resin, please refer to Carbon DLS accuracy guidelines for engineering materials and dental materials.
Like other UV photopolymer printing processes, optical effects occur during printing and are primarily noticeable on the part's surface. The effects do not interfere with the material properties and are not layers. The two types of optical effects experienced with DLS are moire pattern and overcure and cure-through.
The moire pattern is an optical surface effect created when two regular patterns intersect and interfere with one another.
For parts printed on the DLS platform, moire patterns are the result of the surface of the part intersecting with the regular grid of pixels used to define the part.
This is why different geometries have different patterns, or the same part can have a different pattern when printed in different orientations.
This does not alter the material properties or the part performance. It can be addressed by applying a texture to the part's surface or reorienting the part.
Resin is not opaque to UV light. Therefore during slice projection, light can penetrate through thin areas of material in uncontrolled ways. This can cause inaccuracies known as overcure and cure-through. This is most noticeable in
- White or clear resins
- Very tight tolerances
- Features under minimum feature size
- Tiny parts
Part design can be optimized to account for these inaccuracies by compensating for the additional cured material. See also guidelines for holes below.
Overcure - XY Plane
Overcure is caused by light scattering horizontally at the edges of a slice, where the material is thinner and less opaque. This scattered light cures resin adjacent to the part and typically causes an additional 0.010 - 0.075mm of part curing. This effect is more significant in smaller cavities due to higher local temperatures.
Cure-Through - Z Axis
Cure-through occurs when light penetrates vertically through a thin area of material and cures resin on the backside of the slice. It is essentially overcure in the Z-axis. This phenomenon causes holes to be oblong and 0.050 - 0.200mm smaller than nominal in the Z-axis.
Before a part can be printed, the CAD model must be saved in a file format the printer software can interpret (read). Carbon printers accept
- STL - stereolithography or Standard Triangle language file. Universally accepted format for additive.
- STEP - A type of CAD file, STEP stands for Standard for the Exchange of Product Data, also known as ISO 10303.
- .carbon - Carbon DLS file type, contains build information, supports, material, etc
An STL is the most common file type for additive and is a surface mesh representation of the model. The surface of the native CAD model is tessellated into a mesh of explicit triangles.
When the mesh is coarse, the model appears faceted. This will result in a printed part that is faceted.
A fine mesh produces a smooth surface and a high-quality STL. This is necessary for maximizing part quality for the DLS technology.
Most CAD programs offer options to optimize the size of the triangle. Some have settings to choose such as "fine" or "high," while others allow the user to set the values, usually angle and chord height. The more refined the mesh (the higher the quality of STL), the larger the file will be. Check the model in the print UI after saving.
Hint: To check an exported STL file, change the view so that it is about the same size on the computer screen as the real world part. If the model looks faceted, resave with more refined settings.
Design for additive manufacturing or DfAM is similar to that for traditional technologies. Knowing the design rules and the advantages of utilizing additive technology is essential to getting the most out of it. There are many manufacturing methods in your toolbox, and understanding the benefits of each will help narrow down the correct manufacturing method for the application.
This guide aims to help you learn the DfAM rules of Carbon DLS™ manufacturing methods and open your eyes to the possibilities of design and how design freedoms are unlocked when additive is the chosen manufacturing method.
DfAM rules revolve around the Design Principles and Recommended Features Sizes explained in the remainder of this guide.
See the Application Selection guide to learn about the value of designing for the additive manufacturing process and how your design adds to the business case of utilizing the technology.
Design Freedom
An advantage of utilizing additive manufacturing is the design freedoms that it unlocks over traditional methods. These freedoms can help inspire new functions for parts that can improve the part's functionality.
Lattices
The ability to produce 3-dimensional lattices is a major advantage of additive manufacturing. Lattice design can be beneficial to reduce part weight or provide functional performance for the design.
Lightweighting refers to the process of modifying the design of a part to reduce weight without compromising the performance. Lattices by nature of their design have a high strength-to-weight ratio, making parts strong and light.
Creating a performance lattice may seem difficult; however, Carbon offers a lattice design software called Design Engine to make this process much easier.
Design Engine helps designers make precisely tuned, high-performance products. The lattices designed by this software are conformal and can have multiple zones, allowing a single part to have different responses along its surface.
For more information about designing lattices, refer to Lattice Parameters in Design Engine training.
Design Optimization
Design optimization can include many things, including part consolidation and topology optimization.
Part Consolidation
Topology Optimization
Where lightweighting with a lattice design removes material, topology optimization designs the part to have material only where the part needs it based on performance criteria.
Design principles are characteristics of a part. These are the design for manufacturing concepts for DLS technology. A DLS part should be designed to have these characteristics, or small changes implemented to create these characteristics, for best results. Combined with the design freedoms of additive manufacturing, this unlocks great potential for DLS technology.
These principles reduce scrap, create a more consistent process, and reduce the time to manufacture.
This table summarizes the relationship of the design principle to the feature(s), potential design solutions, and the design flaws the principle can help eliminate.
Details for each design principle follow this summary table.
Design Principle | Suggested Design Solution | Design Flaw | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminate sharp edges and/or drastic steps On sharp edges, use Fillets or Chamfers Use organic/natural designs when possible | Gradual geometry changes mitigate many Part Defects and make your part easier to clean. | |
Wall thickness - Unsupported Wall thickness - Supported | Use the gradual geometry changes solutions to help minimize the effects of varying wall thickness. | Maintaining consistent thickness helps mitigate Warping due to mass loss shrinkage. | |
| Vent parts at the build platform Vent any trapped volumes in the part Leave resin flow paths in the supports | No trapped volumes in the part mitigate Part Defects and cleanability issues. | |
Maximum overhang Maximum bridge Unsupported angle Positive feature sizes | Follow the recommended maximums and utilize the solutions for gradual geometry changes | Self-supporting parts reduce labor time and the potential for human error during cleaning. | |
Hole sizes Engraving/embossing | Parts with gradual geometry changes, consistent wall thickness, and self-supporting will be the easiest to clean. | Easy to clean parts improve washing efficiency and reduce human error. |
Sharp corners and sudden changes in cross sectional area from slice to slice create areas of high stress. These high stress areas cause issues during printing and bake as well as create locations of failure for finished parts.
Gradual geometry changes minimize the rate of change from slice to slice, reducing stress on parts during printing and baking. Overall the reduction in stress produces a more consistent part. By applying gradual geometry changes, the design is
- Less likely to warp during printing or baking
- Reduce or even eliminate resin flow lines
- Produce a smoother moire pattern
- Reduce stress during application and eliminate failure points
Design Suggestions
Use natural, organic designs when possible. Eliminate sharp steps by utilizing fillets or chamfers. These techniques will distribute stresses over larger areas.
Gradual transitions beyond the minimum will perform even better.
Fillets
- Interior Corners: 0.5 mm minimum radius
- Exterior Corners: 0.5 mm + Wall Thickness (W) minimum radius
Chamfers
- 2x the overhang minimum
Do not exceed the maximum unsupported angle for the resin to make these transitions more self supporting.
Consistent wall thickness is connected to gradual geometry changes. Inconsistent wall thickness causes uneven mass loss shrinkage in the parts during baking. The part warps and sometimes more severe defects occur, making the part unusable. The same design suggestions utilized for gradual geometry changes can be used to help keep walls at a consistent thickness. This design feature relates to supported and unsupported wall thickness.
Example of gradual geometry changes with consistent wall thickness
The below is an example of a blocky original design with sudden geometry changes and sharp corners. By utilizing gradual geometry changes, the second iteration will be easier to print and have a better surface finish. The third iteration is designed for additive, lightweighted with consistent wall thicknesses.
Unvented volumes can cause an array of issues from catastrophic failures, surface defects, and simple cleanability issues. These issues can arise during the printing process itself or not be noticed until the part has completed post-processing. It is best to avoid unvented volumes through good DLS part design and support strategies.
For more information reference DLS Printer Dynamics and the Part Defects guidelines on Blow Out, Fringing, Resin Starvation, Under-Adhesion, and Vacuum Line.
Design Suggestions The main items to keep in mind for unvented volumes when designing, redesigning, or supporting parts are
- Allow flow paths for the resin and solvent
- Vent as close to the platform as possible
Vent Hole Size Recommendations
- 2 - 3 mm minimum
- 3 to 5 mm for viscous resins (EPUs, SIL 30, RPU 130)
Quantity of Vent Hole Guidelines
At the cross section where vent holes are placed:
- M Series printer - 1 vent hole per 1000 mm²
- L1 printer - 1 vent hole per 500 mm²
In this example, the part has a 4000 mm² surface area on the platform. This requires 4 vent holes on an M Series printer and 8 on an L1 printer.
Blind Holes Blind holes are a special type of unvented volume. Bosses are an example of a blind hole where the hole does not pass through the part. These holes trap resin and require manual cleaning with swabs. Vent these types of features to allow resin to drain during printing and solvent to flow through the hole during cleaning.
Example of a blind hole (boss). This feature contains trapped resin. Venting this feature creates a flow path for resin and solvent. This reduces manual cleaning, saving time and potential scrap from a poorly cleaned part.
Acceptable Unvented Volumes Note that if you are unable to add the recommended vent hole size for design reasons, small unvented trapped volumes with thick surrounding walls are unlikely to cause a noticeable defect.
In this example, the four corner holes are unvented volumes during printing while the open end is submerged in resin, and it remains a blind hole during post-processing when the part is washed on the platform. Though the holes will be difficult to clean, you can see that the feature itself is in good condition because the hole is small volumetrically and has thick, stable surrounding walls.
By contrast, the thin walls surrounding the large unvented volume in the center of the part exhibits multiple surface defects.
These features will still be difficult to clean if left unvented and add labor costs, however, so weigh your options carefully.
Many design choices affect a part's support strategy and cleanability. During design or redesign, keeping these design principles in mind reduces cost and scrap.
In general, the fewer supports a part requires to print, the easier it is to clean and is more likely to have gradual geometries. The benefits of which have already been discussed. Other benefits of self-supporting and easy to clean parts are reduced:
- Handling - support removal, manual touch-up cleaning
- Human error - poorly cleaned parts, overexposure to solvent, other cleaning errors
- Surface finish defects - heavily supported parts can exhibit resin flow and other artifacts from the supports seen in the surface finish.
It is not always possible to produce a fully self-supporting part and/or a part that requires no manual touch-up. That does not mean the part is not worth manufacturing. The main goal is to minimize the number of supports and make cleaning easier.
All manufacturing processes have suggested feature sizes and design for manufacturing rules that the operation can maintain. These are different based on the manufacturing process and vary within the process by material. For example, an injected molded ABS part does not have the same design for manufacturing rules and recommended features sizes as a molded natural rubber product. DLS technology is no expectation. The design principles discussed previously are the design for manufacturing rules for DLS technology.
This chart summarizes the Recommended Feature Sizes for the DLS manufacturing process per resin. These recommended features sizes are a starting point and meant to help you avoid:
- Print failure
- Reduce potential defects
- Reduce post-processing time
It is possible to adjust these feature sizes through optimization and iterations. The part is more likely to be successful outside of these recommendations when:
- Only one or two features is out of the range
- Part design follows the design principles
Consistent wall thickness is 1 of the 5 design principles. Following the recommendations for unsupported and supported walls while maintaining as consistent a thickness as possible throughout the part will increase part manufacturing success. The recommendations in the chart are minimums.
Remember the part should have a consistent wall thickness and gradual geometry changes. Too thick of walls can cause large surface areas to be UV cured in one projection. This can increase print time, see DLS Printer Dynamics for an explanation, and increase the cost of the part from increased print time and resin usage.
Unsupported Wall Thickness An unsupported wall is when the wall is only supported along one edge.
Tips:
- Thinner walls are possible with iteration. For walls at the minimum or thinner, the length/span of the wall should be short.
- Apply gradual geometry rules to where the walls connect. Radius the edges. NO SHARP CORNERS
Supported Wall Thickness A supported wall is a wall connected to other walls along two or more edges. This type of wall can be thinner than an unsupported wall because it is more stable during printing.
Tips:
- For walls at the minimum or thinner, the length/span of the wall should be short.
- Apply gradual geometry rules to where the walls connect. Radius the edges. NO SHARP CORNERS
An overhang is an unsupported feature that extrudes from the model and is parallel to the build platform. Overhangs that exceed maximum values require manual supporting or redesign to be self-supporting.
- Different resins have different maximum overhangs due to the properties of the resin in its liquid and UV cured state.
- When designing positive features, be mindful of the overhang.
Tips:
- Use the overhang detection or measurement tool in the Print UI to help identify overhangs that require supporting or redesign.
- Measure overhangs from the edge that meets the rest of the model.
- To design these overhangs to be self-supporting, attach the overhang to a portion of the part that has already printed. Gussets are a simple way.
- Supporting the overhang is also a solution. If you require a crisp edge, support the very edge of the overhang.
A bridge is an unsupported span between two pillars. A bridge can go unsupported 2 x Maximum overhang of the resin.
Tips:
- Use the measurement tool in the Printer UI to measure the distance.
- Keep the supports at least the maximum overhang distance from the pillar (nearest feature) when supporting bridges.
When a feature extrudes from the model and is at an angle from the platform, that angle is known as the unsupported angle. The unsupported angle is measured from the platform. Essentially an overhang is a feature that is 0° (parallel) from the platform. The recommended minimum for this feature is the angle the feature can be from the platform without being supported.
Tips:
- Use the Overhang Detection tool to measure the angle of a feature from the platform.
- The closer to vertical the feature, the less likely that feature requires support.
- Thinner features require more support due to suction forces.
Holes are round openings that pass partially or entirely through a part. Due to optical effects, recommended minimum diameters are provided for holes based on hole orientation.
These minimum recommendations are based on resin, printing, and baking. Smaller holes may be attempted but may not resolve or could require special detail in post-processing (cleaning and baking).
Tips:
- For any hole orientation not listed, use the XY value.
- The arc of the hole is self-supporting if it is the bridge distance of the resin.
- A very large hole or a hole you want to hold accurately may require supports.
- Fence supports work well.
- For tight tolerances be prepared to iterate.
Tips for optical effects for tight tolerances:
- Overcure
- Cure-through
Horizontal holes (XY)
Compensate for overcure by oversizing the diameter by 0.04 mm.
For example, if the diameter is 1.00 mm, the diameter becomes 1.04 mm.
Vertical holes (Z)
Compensate for cure-thru by making the hole oblong-shaped. Oversize the hole in the Z-axis by 0.08 mm.
For example, the original diameter is 1.00 mm, the new dimensions are 1.00 mm in X and 1.08 in Z.
Positive features protrude from the surface of a part.
- Recommended minimum diameters/widths are provided for positive features based on orientation, due to the different optical effects at play.
- For any orientation not listed, use the XY value.
- For tight tolerance conditions, users should be prepared to iterate to compensate for optical effects.
- For larger positive features located in the Z, be mindful of the overhang. These may require a self-supporting structure or supports.
- Engraving refers to small details that are etched into the part’s surface.
- Embossing refers to small details protruding from the surface of the part.
- Text size refers to the height of the letter and is the same for both embossed and engraved text.
- Note: Features should be window-facing for maximum quality.
Clearance is the space required between features of parts that fit together. For example, a post on one part that fits into the hole of a second part. The clearance will allow for variance in the manufacturing process.
Print mating parts in the same orientation for optimal fit.
There are multiple ways to create a threaded hole. These are listed in order of preference:
- Design the printed threads into the part and print them.
- Design a feature to hold a nut to screw the screw into
- Use helical inserts
Remember, these are blind holes and will need venting (2 - 3 mm) for the best cleaning results.
Recommendations for Printed Threads
- The DLS process is high-resolution enough to print end-use threads to a size of M4 (0.7 mm pitch).
- Orient threads parallel to the platform for the best accuracy
- After baking, chase the thread with a tap
- Match the hole with a machine screw, not a self-threading screw.
Nut
- Design a cavity to hold a nut for the bolt to be used
- Design the pocket to prevent rotation of the nut when the bolt is installed
- Allow for a small amount of play
- Recommended clearance for the nut 0.25 mm.
Helical Inserts
Coiled wire insert screwed directly into the part
- Design a hole 0.25 mm smaller than the manufacturer recommended plastic hole diameter.
- After printing, ream the hole with a drill bit the same size as the manufacturer recommended plastic hole diameter.
- Carefully tap the hole.
- Insert helicoil.
